Roth v. MacDonald

• Decision Date: 30 June 1938
• Parties: ROTH et al. v. MACDONALD, State Highway Com'r. TEFT et al. v. SAME. WOOD et al. v. SAME.
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court

200 A. 725

124 Conn. 461

ROTH et al. v. MACDONALD, State Highway Com'r.

TEFT et al. v. SAME.

WOOD et al. v. SAME.

Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut.

June 30, 1938

Appeal from Superior Court, New Haven County; Edward J. Daly, Judge.

Actions by Clifford L. Roth, administrator of the estate of Frederick J. Roth, and others, by Ruth E. Teft, administratrix of the estate of Cyrus H. Teft, and others, and by Susanna E. Wood administratrix of the estate of Francis C. Wood, and others against John A. Macdonald, State Highway Commissioner, for the deaths of plaintiffs' intestates, allegedly caused by defects in a highway. From judgments for defendant after trial by the court, plaintiffs appeal.

No error.

Cornelius J. Danaher, of Meriden, for appellants.

Morris Tyler and Charles A. Watrous, both of New Haven, for appellee.

Argued before MALTBIE, C.J., and HINMAN, AVERY, BROWN, and JENNINGS JJ.

JENNINGS, Judge.

The plaintiffs sought to recover damages for injuries suffered because of the failure of the defendant to keep a trunk line highway in repair. The decision of the trial court for the defendant was based upon two grounds: (1) That the defects in the highway were not the sole cause of the death of the plaintiffs' intestates, (2) that the responsibility for keeping this particular highway in a reasonably safe condition for public travel was not placed on the defendant.

The findings upon which the first conclusion was based are not subject to correction or addition. The three men who were subsequently killed were being driven north on Buckland Street, Milldale, in a new Auburn car at about 2 o'clock in the morning. The traveled surface of the highway is sixteen feet wide, is composed of oiled gravel and is crowned. There is a ditch along its easterly side. About two hundred feet north of the southerly terminus of Buckland Street is a bridge about twelve and one-half feet wide. Guard rails extend about ten feet from each side of the bridge. There are three large trees close to the bridge on the easterly side of the road and there is a stump four feet east of the traveled way, more than thirty-three feet south of the bridge. The tracks of the car left the traveled way north of the stump and ran thirty-three feet to the trees by the bridge. The car crashed into these trees and stopped at the southeasterly corner of the bridge. It was completely wrecked, the three passengers were killed and the driver terribly injured.

While there is no specific finding of negligence on the part of the driver, the...